Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Google Hopes to Make Friends with a More Social Search - Technology Review

Another unsubtle incentive to use Google+

Appearing atop Google's search results used to be the exclusive right of Web celebrities and Fortune 500 companies. Starting this week, your mom is just as likely to show up at the top of those results—providing she uses Google's still fledgling social network, Google+.

The change represents a fundamental shift, as Google's algorithm-driven search is going through a social overhaul as it attempts to head off the threat of disruption from socially focused companies, such as Facebook and LinkedIn. The new Google service, called "Search, plus Your World," is part of that effort.